As the Northern Hemisphere moves into Fall, a common theme emerging for almost all of us is anxiety.

This particular change of season can be challenging, as we exit the ease and sunshine of summer and transition into the seasons of back to school, holidays and the end of the year.

For some of us, even reading that statement might create feelings of anxiety.

Here’s the thing about anxiety:

Sometimes, anxiety gives us important information that we can use to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.

But for the most part, the experience of anxiety comes in tandem with our tendency to project the worst case scenario onto the future.

Simply put, anxiety comes from our experience of an experience that isn’t happening. It is the worst by-product of future tripping.

Anxiety is often the prediction and experiencing of something even though it’s not and may never happen.

And anxiety - since it is a function of the mind - is as powerful a creator as anything else.

Which is to say: when we are so wrapped up in what might go wrong, our mind finds and focuses on what supports it in coming true.

And conversely, when we are wrapped up in what can go right, we look for things that support and create that as well.

The mind is a powerful simulator.

But - as the saying goes - it can either be our servant or our master.

When anxiety is present, we know that the mind is acting as our master.

And that’s where mindfulness comes in.

Mindfulness gives us the tools to expand time, see ALL the available options, and choose the one that will serve us.

Mindfulness is the tool we can employ to shift the mind from master to servant.

Because here’s the thing: anxiety is experienced when nothing has happened yet.

Which means any other number of options that haven’t happened yet are just as possible as the anxiety provoking one.

When we put different experiences in the simulator of the mind, we then have a different experience.

And that different experience will lead us to take actions that can bring out the outcome we would prefer to have.

Which, as I always say, is how we actively create the life of our dreams.